Spark and cinder arrester for steam engines



Feb. 18, 1930. CARPENTER 1,747,619

SPARK AND CINDER ARRESTER FOR STEAM ENGINES Filed Feb. 16, 1924 l INVENTOP 5 BY F MQ ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES GUYoARrnNTER, or NEW'YORK, N.l Y.

SPARK AND CINDER ARRESTER FOR STEAM ENGINES Application inea February 16, 1924. serial No. 693,185.

' My invention relates to the art of'steam engines, in which devices to arrest and collect the sparks and cinders, areto be used and has for its principalobject to provide a device of this character which will successfully and completely collect and retain all minute particles, which are ordinarily thrown oif and emitted through the stack, in proper chambers within the engine. These substances, when cooled, may be discharged from the collecting'chamber, or, if desired, they may be placed back in the fire boX andv again used for combustion.

' Sparks which are emitted through the stack of an engine are not only a great nuisance on account of creating dirtyv conditions, but are a great menace to public safety in that they frequently cause very disastrous lires, particularly along-the roa'd of a railway, and

V for those reasons precautions shouldl be taken to arrest their progress and collect them into a chamber from which they may easilyand quicklybe removed and either discarded as waste, or utilizedy again as, fuel. It is toY such purposes my invention is directed and my object is to produce such a device in a simple, durable andstrong construction that can, atv a very reasonable eX- pense, bexiitted toanysteam engine of the usualtype of ,construction nowin use.i

` I attain myfobjects by causing the prod,- ucts-.the cinders and sparks-to attain a velocity and follow a path which will'cause the particles of solid matter to be expelled by centrifugal action and iinally be deposited in a collecting chamber, as willbe more fully understood byV reference to the drawings forming a part of this'speciiication in which: Fig. 1 showsa longitudinal sectional view 40 of the forward part of a locomotive to which is addedv an extension of the smoke-box which contains most of the functioning elements of my device.v f f A. Fig. 2 isa transverse sectional view of the smoke-box and contentsv taken on thev line Fig. 3 is a detail view of the inner cylinder and attached spiral I employ, and

Fi s. L1 and 5 are detail views showing a 59 baiiie and its attendant openings through the cylinder, which constitute an iniIg-)ortant element of my device.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

the reference numeral 10 is used to indicate the smoke-box of a locomotive which I employ and which, preferably, .extends further forward than ordinary smoke-boxes now in` use. The smoke-box for my purposes may befconstructed and attached to the present type locomotives as an extension, secured thereto in any suitable manner, and arranged at the front end to receive the front end connections of the locomotive. The numeral 11 indicates a cylinder, smaller than the smokebox and preferably mounted therein in such a manner as to provide an annular space either concentric oreccentric ybetween the outer surface of the cylinder and the inner surface of the smoke-box, the wider .portion of the lannularY space when eccentrically mounted being. located at the base of the cylv inder. The rear end of the cylinder 11'is in close proximity to the stack'chamber and is completely closed .therefrom by a division plate 12 which Y isk perforated centrally to receive an openend of a central `cylinder 13 mounted'therein. The front end'of this cyl inder'13 is also open and the cylinder does not project forwardly as far as the end of the smoke'box.

A heli'cal-lyvformed' member 111 surrounds,

and is secured to, the inner cylinder 13, its outer end contacting the inner wall of the cylinder 11, its front end being open so as to communicate with a chamber formed in the smoke'box in advance of the cylinder 13. A screen15 is secured to the forward endof the inner cylinder 13 and extends to theinner wall of the cylinder 11, and as it is also positioned in advance of thehelically formed member, it is apparent a chamber is formed by the forward section of the smoke boX and the screen and that theinnercylinder`18, open at its forward end communicates with this* chamber. l

The inner surface `of the cylinder 11 is provided, at selected points, with bafHes 16 which are positioned to oppose the 'direction of the iiow of gases, ythe purpose of these baes being to catch any solid particles re- 2Q Y l Y- 1,747,619

volving around the in ner surface of the cylinder. Slots, or orifices, 17, extend through the'cylinder 11, the bailes paralleling the said slots, the -purpose ofthe slots being to permit the solids striking the baiiies to pass through `the cylinder intothe eccentrically A.shaped space between the cylinder and the i y inner surfaceof the'smoke box.

'.The blades ofthe helically formed mem 'ber 14' are preferably inclined rearwardly but may be positioned at right Vangles to the laxis i of the cylinder, orveven inclined slightly forwardly, if desired. y l

The numeral 18 indicates the stack and 1'9 the stack chamberwhioh has its base above the `plane vof the base of the cylinder 11 and an exhaust jet 2O extends from Vthe bottom of the'smoke'box upwardly through the base of the stack chamber, said jetbeing obviously positioned centrally below the openbottom `of the vstack, 18. By this construction, kas* clearly shown by the drawings, a chamber is formed which leads from the lire tubes 21, below the lstack chamber 19 and opening` into the lower-portion of the cylinder 11, in which theV inner cylinder 13 and the .helically formed member 14 are located. Through the chamber .thus formed, the gases from the ,v fire tubes flow-,into the cylinderjll, and asi 3o Ysume a rotary motion,l in passing around the cylinder 13, by striking the helically formed member Y and finally theyV are discharged throughthe screenY 1,5 into the chamber at the Yforvvardvpart ofthe smoke box and sucked Y back through the inner cylinder 13 toithe stack chamber andflnally discharged through the stack. 4 Y n A Y 1 As the velocitiesproduced by'the'act'ion of the jet 20 (being the ordinary action pro- `caught by the baiiles and conducted through the openingsfintoathe annular space between they cylinder y11 and thefinnerfsurfa'ce of the Y .smoke boxfyand fall "tothe bottom" thereof. i y In the base ofthe smoke box `I have provided l i aldoor' 22, through whichthefsoli'ds', dropping inn this chamber formed between 'the `outer surface of the cylinder 11 and the inner surface `of the smoke'ubox and whichchamber I style a collecting chamber maybe cleaned out.

It is the utilization of the centrifugal'fad tlon'for this purpose (and Which'isaSsured by my construction) which constitutes onerof Y the principal objects of my invention.' .The

centrifugal' action thus'v created isy capable of attaining great. proportions which ltendsto make sure of the separation of the solids from the gases and has, furthermore, the advantage of not causing vany reversal of 'flow which would seriously impede the draft and cause a loss thereof. Another great advantage of my construction is that the length of the path of the gases from the fire tubes to the stack is materially increased thereby giving the sparks and solids a longer time to cool so that if any of them should pass through the screen 15 they would be much less liable to set re to surrounding objects. However the function of the screen is to prevent any sparks or solids from'fbeing discharged through the stack. f L..

Having thus described my invention,`what I claim and desire to securebyLetters Patent of the United States is; f f

1. A spark arrester for locomotives employing a fire' box, comprising-a smoke stack; a smoke box; a horizontally disposed cylinder,

provided with openings vthrough `the wallA thereof, mounted in the smokeA box, in ade Vance of the smoke stack; baflies on the'inner.k

wall of saidVV cylinder, one baffle being adjacent each of the said openings; an inner cylinder, centrally mounted withinthe rst mentioned cylinder; a helicallyformed member,

mountedbetween theinnerwall ofthe outer( cylinder and the outer Wall ofthe inner cylinder; and a screen mounted between the two cylinders, 'and positioned in advanceof the v helically-fformed member@ f 2. A spark arrester `for locomotivesemploying a lire box, comprising asmoke stack; a smoke box; a cylinder, y'provided with Ysmokebox; a helically formed member, provided with an opening .through the center thereof, horizontallyv andcentrally disposed Vin said cylinder, vavsecond cylinder in said openings through its wall,;mounted in said Y Opening" thereby folmng a spiral Passage` between said cylinders.; bames onthe innery surface of the first named cylinder, one baf-` fle .being positioned n ear each openinginthe wall of said rst named cylinder; a screen mounted in the forward end of the first named cylinder, and interposed between the helically formed member and the smoke box..

3. A spark arrester for locomotives.employ-V ing a fire box, comprising 1a smoke stack, a

smoke box, a cylinder, provided with aplu rality of openings in its wall, mounted with'- inthe smoke box; a division plate between the cylinder and the smokestack; an inner cylinder, provided with'open ends, mounted in the aforesaid Cynndemhe rear ena-er the! i inner cylinder extending through the division!V late to a positionfnear'the smoke stack, the Y 1 *Y orward ends of the cylinders beingadj acent `the forward Awall ofthe 'smo-ke box l`baiiies on theV innersurface of'thelirst mentioned cylinderone of said baifles being positioned parallel to andadjacentveach ofthe aforef said openings; a. helically formed member mounted on said inner cylinder, its blade contactng the outer Wall of the rst mentioned cylinder; and a screen extending between, and secured to, the forward end of the cylinders.

Dated Nov. 28, 1923..

GUY CARPENTER. 

